The Note's Must-Reads for Tuesday, January 21, 2014

The Note's Must-Reads are a round-up of today's political headlines and stories from ABC News and the top U.S. newspapers. Posted Monday through Friday right here at www.abcnews.com

Compiled by ABC News' Jayce Henderson, Will Cantine and Jordan Mazza

WINTER OLYMPICS ABC News' Luis Martinez: " US Military Makes Contingency Plans For Sochi Olympics" If something goes horribly wrong at the upcoming winter Olympics in Sochi, the U.S. military is prepared, Pentagon officials said today. The contingency plans are not for providing sea-based security for the Olympics but for any potential evacuation of American citizens from the Russian winter resort town located on the Black Sea where the Olympics are set to begin on Feb. 7, officials said. "The United States has offered its full support to the Russian government as it conducts security preparations for the Winter Olympics," Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement. LINK

IMMIGRATION The Wall Street Journal's Miriam Jordan: " States Take Lead In Boosting Immigrants" While Congress mulls an immigration overhaul, state legislatures across the country are passing bills aimed at integrating illegal immigrants rather than cracking down on them. Last week, New Jersey joined at least 18 states in approving laws or policies allowing undocumented youngsters to pay in-state college tuition, rather than the higher out-of-state rate. Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, said at a bill-signing that the measure would maximize the investment the state has made in undocumented students, whose K-12 schooling is financed by New Jersey taxpayers. LINK

IRAN USA Today's Aamer Madhani: " U.S., EU Begin Sanctions Relief For Iran" The United States and European Union began easing some economic sanctions against Iran on Monday as Tehran announced that it has ceased certain nuclear activities that it agreed to halt as part of its breakthrough deal with western powers. The announcement that the plan for sanctions relief was activated came after the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, confirmed Monday that Iran had met its part of a November agreement. The deal called for Iran to cease enrichment of uranium above 5%, begin the process of diluting some of its stockpile of 20% enriched uranium, and verify that it has not installed additional centrifuges at two key nuclear facilities. LINK

HEALTH CARE The Washington Times' Tom Howell Jr.: " D.C. restaurant: Obamacare killed our Friday buffet" The new health care law has claimed a new victim in the nation's capital - a popular Friday lunch buffet in Georgetown. Patrons to Filomena, a restaurant in the tony neighborhood, told a widely read blog that the change didn't seem like a big deal, but the reason for it did. A note at Filomena said the restaurant faces "new expenses as a result of the health care reform and the Friday Buffet, though wonderful, was not profitable and required extra staff which we can no longer sustain." LINK

The Washington Post's Lena H. Sun: " Study: Allowing people to stay in existing insurance plans unlikely to disrupt exchanges" Plans to allow people to keep their individual health insurance policies, even if they don't meet the requirements of the health-care law, are unlikely to threaten the short-term viability of the new health insurance marketplace, according to a new Rand Corp. study. The study, released Tuesday, examines the impact of President Obama's decision in November to allow consumers to keep their insurance plans, even if those plans don't meet the requirements of the Affordable Care Act. LINK

SUPREME COURT The Hill's Kevin Bogardus: " Supreme Court case could destroy pillar of union power" Labor unions are at risk of having one of their most successful organizing tactics nullified by the Supreme Court. On Tuesday, the high court will hear oral arguments in Harris V. Quinn, a case that could upend agreements with state governments that allow taxpayer-funded home-care workers to unionize. Those deals have helped boost public sector unions in several states at a time when overall union membership is declining. LINK

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE New York Daily News' Leslie Larson and Corky Siemaszco: " Barbara Buono, N.J. Gov. Chris Christie's electoral opponent, says he runs a bully state" The Democrat Chris Christie squashed during his reelection romp said she believes the Hoboken mayor's claim that the governor's No. 2 put the squeeze on her. Barbara Buono said Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno is "very heavy-handed" and an enforcer in an administration that fosters "a culture of fear in Trenton." "They don't hesitate to smear and bully people," Buono told the Daily News. "Kim Guadagno has a history of calling into question the integrity of people who are just trying to do their jobs." LINK

The Los Angeles Times' Cathleen Decker: " Poll: Chris Christie image taking a hit from bullying controversy" The reason New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has begun to punch back more forcefully against accusations of bullying and cronyism is suggested in a new poll showing the road-closure scandal surrounding the governor has cut into what once was his chief asset: a perception of blunt honesty. A national survey by the Pew Research Center and USA Today showed that almost 6 in 10 Americans who had heard of the controversy do not believe his assertions that he did not know that his aides were involved in closing lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge last September - causing a massive four-day traffic jam - until evidence of it became public recently. LINK

Politico's Lucy McCalmont: Poll: " Chris Christie Unfavorability Doubles" The toll "Bridgegate" might be having on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie emerges in a new poll that shows Americans' unfavorable opinion of the Republican governor has doubled. The share of Americans who view Christie unfavorably has jumped from 17 percent in January 2013 to 34 percent, according to a poll released Monday by the Pew Research Center and USA Today. LINK

ABORTION The New York Times' Jeremy W. Peters: " Parties Seize On Abortion Issues in Midterm Race" When the Republican National Committee gathers for its winter meeting here on Wednesday, the action will start a few hours late to accommodate anyone who wants to stop first at the March for Life, the annual anti-abortion demonstration on the National Mall. And if they need a lift to the meeting afterward, they can hop on a free shuttle, courtesy of the Republican Party. LINK